Mebane residents complain of mold problems

Published: Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 06:38 PM.

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He led a tour of his building on Wednesday, pointing to numerous places both inside and out where mold is obvious. Williams said the building leaks and noted a standing puddle of water in an upstairs hallway, remnants of the previous day’s rain.

Williams said he’s heard of mold growing so rapidly in the building that it has at times attached itself to mattresses.

MEBANE – Several residents of Mebane Mill Lofts say their apartments and the hallways of the complex are plagued with mold that has led to numerous health problems.

The property’s developer said the problems are temporary and steps are being taken to address them.

An inspector with the N.C. Housing Finance Agency confirmed substantial amounts of mold in the complex earlier this week. A spokeswoman for the organization said the developer has been contacted and the next step is to determine what caused the mold and how the problem might be fixed.

“It’s absolutely gorgeous,” Nathaniel Williams said of his apartment, which he moved into with his three children in January 2012. The residence has high ceilings and huge windows.

Mebane Mill Lofts is a 75-unit loft-style apartment complex that was once the R.L. Stowe yarn mill. It was converted at a cost of $12 million with help from a Community Development Block Grant, federal tax credits for renovations of historic structures, federal low income housing tax credits and a loan from the Community Investment Corp. of the Carolinas. The Lofts opened in January 2012.

Residents must meet income restrictions. Many qualify for Section 8 Housing or other government-assisted housing.

Williams said despite the fact he likes his apartment, he recently gave his 30-day notice to management. He plans to vacate the premises early next month.

“It’s not worth ruining your health to live here,” he said.

Williams is probably the most vocal of residents of the Lofts who have complained about mold and moisture in the historic building. But he’s far from the only one to speak out.

Betty Jones said she moved out last month after having lived in the Lofts a year. She said not long after moving into the complex she developed nagging headaches and a cough that wouldn’t go away.

Jackie Torain moved into the complex last August. She said she’s already considering vacating the premises because of problems with mold.

“It’s in the air,” Torain said of mold spores. “You can’t do anything about what’s in the air.”

She said after complaining to management, her bedroom was treated twice and her living room treated once. Residents say such treatments typically consist of maintenance workers treating the mold with Clorox, then painting over it. The mold almost always quickly returns, they said.

Torain said the mold in her apartment persists, in the carpet and elsewhere.

“I’d hate to move again,” she said, “but my health is more important.”

Dawn Burton has lived at the Lofts since last June. She’s about to move. When visitors stopped by her apartment earlier this week, Burton pulled a table from the wall to show mold growing behind it on a wall. She said a skylight in her son’s bedroom leaks, one of numerous ways excessive moisture is making its way into the apartment.

Burton said a dehumidifier that management installed as a means of addressing the mold problem serves only to run up her electric bill.

“It’s a nice place, it’s brand new,” she said. “If it weren’t for the mold I wouldn’t be moving.”

BRANDIE WILKS, a regional property manager for The Landmark Group, the developer of the Lofts, said managers met with residents at a community meeting in December to address problems. She said dehumidifiers – like the one Burton has – have been installed in 15 apartments and more may be installed.

She said it typically takes “a week or two” for the dehumidifiers to make a difference, though she also insisted – “It is working,” speaking of their installation.

Wilks said if the dehumidifiers don’t reduce humidity and get rid of the mold, “We’ll have to move on from there. We’re being pro-active, we’re taking care of the problem.”

Wilks said she felt some residents simply wanted to move elsewhere and, “I think they were using the mold issue to move.” She said the majority of residents of the Lofts are happy with the complex, and said about 20 people are on a list waiting for an apartment. She questioned why a newspaper reporter was interested in writing a story about the matter.

The Lofts are attractive. They have wide hallways, hardwood floors and exposed ceilings. Picture a New York City loft apartment and something like this springs to mind.

Margaret Matrone, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, said her organization was contacted last Friday about a possible mold problem at the Lofts. She said a construction inspector visited the complex Monday and determined there was excessive mold.

“Our next step is to figure out what’s causing it and remediation,” Matrone said.

Of the mold, she said, “I’m sure the problem will be rectified.”

Exactly how that happens, Matrone said, she didn’t know. She said some types of mold are harmless and others aren’t. Matrone said that in her 20-plus years with the Housing Finance Agency, she’d never seen a situation where a problem like this wasn’t solved, though she also said it’s seldom her organization is contacted pertaining to an issue with mold.

Mebane City Manager David Cheek said the only complaint he’d heard about the apartments pertained to a phone call he received from a resident who complained she wasn’t being refunded her deposit upon moving out. Cheek said Mebane doesn’t have any jurisdiction when it comes to resolving such disagreements.

“It’s not city property,” he said.

Meanwhile, Williams said the youngest of his three children – 9-year-old Destiny – isn’t living with him until he moves. He said she’s too sick to return to the apartment and blames the mold on her ailments. She has swelling throughout her body, Williams said, everywhere from her neck to her toes.

He said doctors have told him his daughter’s problems are likely the result of something viral, something caused by overexposure to mold.

“I won’t bring her back in here,” Williams said.

He led a tour of his building on Wednesday, pointing to numerous places both inside and out where mold is obvious. Williams said the building leaks and noted a standing puddle of water in an upstairs hallway, remnants of the previous day’s rain.

Williams said he’s heard of mold growing so rapidly in the building that it has at times attached itself to mattresses.